Social Media Day: Round Two
July 1, 2011 by Bailey
Filed under All, social media
Yesterday was the 2nd annual Social Media Day, and for all of us in the social media marketing field it’s nice to have that recognition. I (personally) spend the majority of my life in Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and writing blogs so it was nice to actually get out from behind the computer and be social!
This year we held our get together at Uno Mas in Mount Pleasant, keeping to our Mexican food theme (last year was at Taco Boy)! We had a great turnout, great food and even better happyritas!
Thank you to all those who came and a big thanks to Dine with Sal and everyone at Uno Mas for hosting the party! Here at Step Ahead we’re already looking forward to next year.
*** For more pictures visit our Tumblr account!
Social Media News of the Week: June 27, 2011
July 1, 2011 by Bailey
Filed under All, SMNofW, social media
This was a great week for social media mainly because yesterday was Social Media Day (be sure to check out our Social Media Day Charleston event)! Other than that, Google announced their own social network Google +, Twitter lost their co-owner, Biz Stone, and so much more!
On Tuesday, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone announced that he is going to be focusing on other projects and step out of the “twit-light”. Dick Costolo, CEO of the social network, will stay front and center with the company.
Facebook is having to deal with the Winklevoss twins again who are back, now asking the Boston court system to look into their case. When will these guys take a hike? Google is not taking a hike either as they announced their Facebook competitor Google +. I’ve taken a brief look and I’ll admit it’s pretty cool. I don’t think people will just jump off Facebook and join Plus but you just never know! What do y’all think about Google Plus?
On a side note, I swapped my Droid for an iPhone, so the new Tumblr app 2.0 is amazing! And, I still can’t understand what Justin Timberlake sees in MySpace to have bought in but I guess he might just surprise me!
Oh yeah, and Step Ahead joined Tumblr this week, so check us out and follow us!
Holy Twitter!
June 29, 2011 by Katie
Filed under All, social media
We all know that if you want to stay connected online with friends or colleagues, the place to do it is through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and other social media tools. But what about staying connected to your church? Or the Pope?
On March 14, the rumors were confirmed that a Facebook profile had been created in honor of the late Pope John Paul II. The Vatican launched JPII’s page as a part of their social media initiative to create an online presence for the Catholic Church. Now, another Pope has decided to create his own social media presence.
Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI made history by becoming the first Pope to utilize Twitter by sending a tweet with his iPad to promote the Vatican’s new website. The tweet said “Dear Friends, I just launched News.va. Praised by our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI”
Although Pope Benedict may be new to social media, the Catholic Church is not. With more than 40,000 followers and some 1,200 tweets, The Vatican’s Twitter account is thriving along with the launch of their new interactive website.
News.VA is a mothership of real-time information for the Catholic follower. It’s comprised of the latest news from The Vatican Radio (with plenty of social media sharing options for readers), a real-time Twitter feed, a Vatican Events page, a Facebook updates section and a YouTube video channel.
This past year, the Catholic Church has truly brought religion into the realm of social networking. With this “old school” institution embracing and understanding the importance of new media, it seems that online networking has no limits. If the Pope can tweet, well so can you! No more excuses…
Social Media News of the Week: May 30, 2011
In honor of this short week, I’m going to try and make this social media recap as short as possible! We’ve been offering Foursquare services to our clients for more than a year and it’s a good thing because location just keeps moving right along. But there are some things to watch out for when using Foursquare for marketing, and Mashable does a nice job of explaining the “do nots” of location-based marketing.
If you’ve ever had the “pleasure” of talking to me, you would pick up pretty quickly that I’m obsessed with the music industry and very interested in how bands can take advantage of social media. Well, D.C.-based band Bluebrain did social just right by releasing their newest album as a location-aware app. You have to check out this video to gain full appreciation!
If your company is on Twitter, then you need to take advantage of their new follow button and put it on your website now! Check out our home page to see an example of how it works (oh, and follow us on Twitter while you’re at it!). Have a great weekend everyone!
Social Media News of the Week: May 23, 2011
Let me start off by saying I’m throughly relieved to have survived The Rapture last Saturday at 6 p.m. so I could bring you the Social Media News of the Week! Here are some great tweets from that infamous day!
Speaking of Twitter this was a week full of 2 big updates for the social network. You can now get more detailed email notifications and they have bought TweetDeck! For the past few weeks there have been speculations Twitter would acquire TweetDeck but it appears that they actually did. Do you think there will be any major changes to the platform even though they are keeping their staff and location in London?
On a lighter note, I want to congratulate Scotty McCreery on winning American Idol. According to Mashable, Twitter predicted this by mentioning his competition and rumored love interest, Lauren Alaina. I just love American Idol – what’s your guilty pleasure?
The State of Indianapolis Social Media
May 27, 2011 by Lyn Mettler
Filed under All, social media
Last fall, I returned to the city where I went to college and spent the young adult years of my life – Indianapolis. I’d spent the last 8 years starting a family in Charleston, S.C., but my husband and I ultimately we decided it was time to return to our roots and let our children grow up around family. We also missed the bigger city and all it has to offer in the way of entertainment and convenience. Colts anyone? Butler basketball? We were glad to be back 
.
From a business perspective, I would be opening a branch of my company, Step Ahead, which manages social media for businesses, in the midwest. Before I left Indy for Charleston, social media didn’t exist. By the time I returned, Facebook was taking over the world . So after watching the growth of social media and its use for business in the south, I wasn’t sure what I’d find in regards to openness of social media in the bigger city. I assumed it would be more accepted here and further ahead, but I was shocked to find it wasn’t.
Indy has a great social media community and a vibrant group of Twitterers, certainly larger than in Charleston, though the Twittering crowd there is definitely passionate, albeit smaller. There’s definitely some social media evangelists in Indianapolis furthering the cause! But when it comes to business use of social media, I dare say it’s further behind the south. I was flabbergasted! I thought the south was always last!
I think Indiana businesses have reached the point where they understand that Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the like are here to stay and they need to be doing something with these tools, but I’ve found a general resistance to looking for outside help and using qualified experts.
Businesses continue to pile it on the internal public relations or marketing person, who even if they love social media, are unlikely have the time to devote to making a social media plan for a business actually produce measurable results. In the south, it seems more businesses (but far from all) realize that this is beyond their expertise. Let the accountants do the accounting. Let the lawyers handle the legal stuff. And let the social media experts handle social media. They’re ready to invest a little in social media and see what it gets them.
Indy, I’m surprised at you! I don’t want to discount the businesses here who are doing it right because there are some great examples – National Precast Concrete Association, Scotty’s Brewhouse, Delivra, Butler University — but you seem to be the exception, not the rule. Let those of us who believe in the power of social media and the marketing results it can generate – beyond just awareness to actual revenue – continue to spread the word and educate our business leaders.
Maybe we should all take a trip down to Charleston?? What do you think? Is Indy a leader in social media? Way behind? Right on par? Share your thoughts. Prove me wrong!
Social Media News of the Week: May 9, 2011
Looking back on the week’s news, I was intrigued by how many Twitter stories really caught my eye. I usually tie in some sort of theme with my weekly news recap and this week it was just plain and simple: Twitter.
Mashable and CNN both released lists of Twitter influencers, events and celebrity tweeters. Mashable’s Top 10 Historic Tweets list consisted of newsworthy tweets, such as the discovery of ice on Mars to tweet mistakes like the Kenneth Cole Cairo tweet and even an engagement tweet! They also provided us with the top celebrities on Twitter with not many surprises. Ashton Kutcher, Lady GaGa, Oprah and Charlie Sheen were all included.
CNN finished out the lists this week with a list of general Top Tweeters with the ever obvious @google being on the top.
The best Twitter news came at the end of the week when they announced some upgrades to their app on Mac computers. It’s available in the Apple App Store and I really enjoy all the changes!
Social Media News of the Week: April 18, 2011
April 22, 2011 by Bailey
Filed under All, SMNofW, social media
It’s time for this week’s social media recap and I wanted to start by saying Happy Birthday to Facebook’s “like” button. It’s been a huge first year for you and I wish you much success in your second year! I also want to give Foursquare a huge shout out for a successful Foursquare Day this past Saturday. The geolocation app scored over 3 million check-ins on Saturday and I’m proud to be one of those!
Other news this week: Twitter could potentially purchase TweetDeck for $50 million from UberMedia. This is not a total surprise to me since TweetDeck is the most popular third party client on the Twitter platform. There has been some tension in the past between UberMedia and Twitter so it will be interesting to see how this situation all unfolds!
Since I started my blog today with some shout outs that’s how I will end, as well. Shout out to Groupon for partnering with General Mills on a deal that excited every coupon clipper in America! Buyers were able to get $40 worth of General Mills products and a coupon book for only $20!
Final shout out goes to Dream Theater, an amazing band that I have had the pleasure of seeing several times. Mike Portnoy (a phenomenal drummer) decided to call it quits this year and they’re on the hunt to replace him. They’re using Facebook to let their fans know every detail of the selection process, which is important for this band since they have some of the most dedicated fans in the world. Good luck in the selection process, guys, and I wish you all the best of luck!
Social Media Synergy
March 30, 2011 by Laura Angermeier
Filed under social media
The list of social media tools available to small businesses these days is overwhelming and growing everyday, but that’s not an excuse to ignore all the social media opportunities out there.
Many businesses are on Facebook now and may even be dabbling in Twitter, but if you’re not exploring all the different ways social media can build your business, then you’re just plain missing out. I recently met a small local business owner who was smiling ear to ear as he told me about the success he had with group buying sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial. After hearing about all his new customers, I asked how he intended to spend the rest of his budget. The answer shook me to my core. He said YellowPages! That was it!
Okay, so after regrouping and pulling my jaw up from the floor, I tried to explain that he should try to retain contact with the new customers he gained from group buying with social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, geo-location tools and blogs. He thought that since he had so much success with one tool, there was no point in pursuing others. What??
So why does it really matter if you use just one or several of these social media tools? Well, being on one is a great step for any small business, but as you continue to add different tools, your reach grows exponentially. You’re able to cross promote with different tools and reach more of your target market. Some folks out there will be active on Twitter, but not Facebook, and vice versa. Once you’re active on Twitter and Facebook, you can talk about the interesting posts on your blog, thus driving traffic to your blog and website. It’s a never ending circle of cross promoting and driving that always-important traffic.
That said, there will be certain social media tools that fit your business and others that don’t. Not sure what they are? Just ask us!
Social Media News of the Week: Week of March 14, 2011
March 18, 2011 by Bailey
Filed under All, social media
Last week when I predicted that this week’s blog would be all about SXSW, I was totally wrong. One week from today there was a horrific tsunami in Japan that shook the whole world. We here at Step Ahead continue to pray for everyone in Japan and we are so impressed with the way social media has stepped in to help the victims.
Mashable released a quick and easy “Hello Bar” Saturday that anyone could add to their website or blog. This bar included a message about the earthquake and a link to donate to the Red Cross. The Red Cross, Global Giving and International Medical Corps all set up a text-to-donate option for people to use.
Later this week LivingSocial released a deal that was $5 for a $10 donation to the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund. Last I heard this campaign raised more than $1 million for relief efforts! I love this idea from LivingSocial and commend them for stepping up. Raising money isn’t the only great thing social media has done for the people in the Pacific.
On The Today Show Friday morning they talked to an American traveler who was only able to get updates about the earthquake via Twitter. When there was the explosion at the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant, many flooded the feeds of Facebook and Twitter with their concern and options. With the Internet still available after the quake, the US Embassy encouraged Americans to try and get in touch with loved ones via texts, tweets and Facebook posts. Let’s just say I’m very happy with the role social media played in helping to connect love ones and raise money for a truly great cause!
I can’t completely neglect SXSW because it’s just a vital conference for social media lovers everywhere. The usual suspects were all the buzz — Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare and Mashable — but there were also a few that surprised me like GroupMe. Everyone’s blogs, tweets and articles I’ve read so far have been about group messaging and its power to be the next big thing! I can’t wait to do some more reading and research on the allure of group messaging (blog to come on that!).
